Memorial Day: A time when a nation remembers

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that it should be observed on May 30. According to the Office of the Public and Intergovernmental affairs the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. However, local observances predate the first government-sanctioned celebration. This occurred in Columbus, Miss., in April 1866 when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Also known as the battle of Pittsburg Landing, it was the first major battle in the western theater and took place in Harden County, Tenn., on April 6 and 7 in 1862. The women also placed flowers on the graves of Union soldiers who had died.

The May-30 GAR observances centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, formerly the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Nearly 5,000 people attended the first Memorial Day. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave.

Advertisement

Many cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., says it began there in 1864. A marker in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery states that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Notably, Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day where a ceremony conducted on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Local businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Waterloo supports its claim, saying any earlier observances were informal and not community-wide or one-time events.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures were first to pass proclamations designating the day a holiday while the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy adopted specific protocols for observance at military facilities.

After World War I, the day ceremonies were expanded to include all who died in American wars. It wasn't until 1971 that Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by Congress and the date set at May 31, until an act of Congress moved the date to the last Monday of May. In some places, the day is still referred to as Decoration Day.

Some Southern states also have a separate day to honor Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April; Alabama on the fourth Monday of April and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe Confederate Memorial Day on May 10. Louisiana celebrates it on June 3. Tennessee has a Confederate Decoration Day, also on June 3. Texas has a Confederate Heroes Day on January 19 and Virginia refers to the last Monday as May Confederate Memorial Day.

In December 2000, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act, P.L. 106-579 to ensure the sacrifices of America's fallen heroes are never forgotten, creating a commission to "encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country." This resulted in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence.